Joel Edgerton, Jim Sturgess and Lee Pace Racing to Win 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Lead

November 29, 2012 (3:22 am) GMT

Jack Huston and Eddie Redmayne are also in the running to play Peter Quill a.k.a Star-Lord, while Garrett Hedlund, James Marsden and Sullivan Stapleton are reportedly also intersted in the part.

Marvel Studios apparently already moves forward with its "Guardians of the Galaxy" project. The studio reportedly has assembled a short list of actors who will test for the lead role in the big gig. Deadline reports that a number of in-demand actors are in the running to win the part of Peter Quill, the Guardians leader who is an offspring of a human mom and an alien dad.

For those who are unfamiliar with Quill a.k.a Star-Lord, the character leads a group of alien superheros including Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Drax the Destroyer and Gamora to protect the solar system from an evil force. They come from the future and another dimension. In Marvel comics, the Guardians also work with The Avengers to protect the universe.

The "Guardians of the Galaxy" film project has hired James Gunn as the director and Black List scribe Chris McCoy as the screenwriter. The movie reportedly will follow a far-future story revolving around a group of alien beings - each the last of their kind - who eventually travel back in time to protect the earth from alien invasion. Marvel plans to release the flick Stateside on August 1, 2014.